Driving of fluids

ABSTRACT

A device for the fine, homogeneous pulverization of one fluid by another. The device comprises an intake pipe carrying the driving fluid, a tube carrying the fluid to be driven which is introduced into the driving fluid, and an olive-shaped mass arranged at the outlet of the intake pipe and coaxial therewith. The forward end of the olive-shaped mass extends beyond the plane of the outlet orifice of the intake pipe. The plane including the largest cross-section of the mass substantially coincides with the plane of the outlet orifice of the intake pipe. An annular passage is formed between the olive-shaped mass and the interior wall of the intake pipe. The pressure of the fluid is relatively low so that at least the portion in the vicinity of the olive-shaped mass flows parallel to the axis of the pipe. The tube is connected by a slit or radial channels to discharge the fluid to be driven at one or more points on the outer surface of the olive-shaped mass. A ring of blades inclined at 15* to the common axis and parallel to one another may be provided in the intake pipe. A further conduit may be provided about the intake pipe which defines the annular passage.

United States Patent 1 m1 Garnier 51 May 29, 1973 [54] DRIVING OF FLUIDS Primary Examiner Rob ert G. Nilson [76] Inventor: Michel Garnier, 28, Avenue Mon- AvOMeyTDOmiId Wight Charles Brown and taigne, Paris, France Vincent Ramlk [57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: June 25, 1971 App]. No.: 156,870

Related US. Application Data July 17, 1970 Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 846,423, July 3, 1969, Pat. No. 3,589,383.

Foreign Application Priority Data France .7026477 US. Cl. ..137/604, 239/420, 239/424,

239/425, 239/DIG. 7

239/421, 425, 426, DIG. 7, 424

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Maze ..239/425 Simanton 10/1959 Coanda ..239/DIG. 7

A device for the fine, homogeneous.pulverization of one fluid by another. The device comprises an intake pipe carrying the driving fluid, a tube carrying the fluid to be driven which is introduced into the driving,

fluid, and an olive-shaped mass arranged at the outlet of the intake pipe and coaxial therewith. The forward end of the olive-shaped mass extends beyond the plane of the outlet orifice of the intake pipe. The plane including the largest cross-section of the mass substantially coincides with the plane of the outlet ori fice of the intake pipe. An annular passage is formed between the olive-shaped mass and the interior wall of the intake pipe. The pressure of the fluid is relatively low so that at least the portion in the vicinity of the olive-shaped mass flows parallel to the axis of the pipe. The tube is connected by a slit or radial channels to discharge the'fluid to be driven at one or more points on the outer surface of the olive-shaped mass. A ring of blades inclined at 15 to the common axis and parallel to one another may be provided in the intake pipe. A further conduit may be provided about the intake pipe which defines the annular passage.

12 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTgm-titmslm 3,735,778

sum 2 [1F 2 I a device for fine,

1 DRIVING or Fwms The present application is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 846,423 filed on July 31, 1969, now US. Pat. No. 3,509,383.

The present invention concerns a device for the fine, homogeneous spraying of a driven fluid by means of a driving fluid, the two fluids being slightly under pressure. The term fluid in respect of the present invention includes not only fluids per se, liquids and gases, but also pulverulent solid matter.

Numerous apparatus for fine spraying or for fluid mixing are known in which a stream of a fluid under pressure is mixed asit is driven with a second fluid which a conduit introduces through a slit into the stream of the first fluid, in particular in the vicinity of a zone in which'said streamis constricted. Thus, apparatus have been developed which enable the driving of one fluid by another, for example in filter pumps 01' in Giffard-type injectors. Such known devices generally necessitate a high-pressure driving fluid but only assure a low capacity spraying. However, it is at the present more and more necessary, for various uses of such apparatus to be able to effect very fine spraying, often known as atomization, which is very homogeneous and capable of being distributed in large volumes, if necessary, which uses amounts as small as possible of the vehicle and/or the fluid to be sprayed. Known apparatus generally do not enable such results to be obtained without special construction or precautionary handling measures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The-present invention has as an object a spraying device fulfilling these various conditions and which at the same time is economical, simply operated and easily controlled, enabling it to be adapted to varied uses without expensive dismantling.

Research carried out to this end by the applicant has shown that this object can be attained by a driving fluid at low pressure under certain conditions according to the present invention. The present invention comprises homogeneous spraying of a fluid by another, including an intake pipe for driving fluid and means for introducing a second fluid into the driving fluid, a generally olive-shaped mass in the outlet orifice of the intake pipe and coaxial therewith, the tip of said mass being located outside the pipe, the plane of the largest cross-section (plane of the main couple) of the olive-shaped mass substantially coinciding with the outlet section of the intake pipe and thus providing an annular passage between the surface of the olive-shaped mass and the wall of the pipe, a second pipe carrying the second fluid to the interior of said mass, said second fluid also being at a relatively low pressure so that at least the portion thereof in the vicinity of the oliveshaped mass flows parallel to the axis of the annular passage, and means for discharging the second fluid at at least one point on the outer surface of said mass.

Under these general conditions it has been found that there is formed about the axis common to the mass and the pipe and starting from the tip of the mass: first, a substantially cylindrical zone of short length, then a diverging zone of very fine homogeneous mixture of the two fluids in the ambient surrounding space downstream of the tip of the device. It is thus irrespective of the position of the entry zone of the second fluid into the first between the two ends of the olive-shaped mass. This position according to the invention is determined by prior test enabling the determination of the best relau've position between the largest cross-section of the olive-shaped mass and the outlet of the driving fluid pipe as a function of the dimensions of the parts and the desired flow rate. According to another feature of the invention, the interior wall of the intake pipe may be provided with at least one ring of fins or blades parallel to one another and at an angle of at least 15 relative to the axis common to the olive-shaped mass and said pipe, the radial dimension of the annular passage being such that the portion of the driving fluid flows parallel and in the vicinity of the olive-shaped mass and the rest of this fluid undergoes a rotary helical movement about this axis. Said ring is in the vicinity of the outlet edge of said pipe.

In another embodiment there is provided around the first pipe defining the annular passage supplied with the drivingfluid a conduit coaxial with said pipe and the olive-shaped mass and having blades inclined at about 15 relative to the axis of the unit.

In the wall of the intake pipe or the outer conduit there may also be provided a combination of so-called Coanda slits intended to introduce into the annular passage a certain amount of ambient fluid set in motion by the helical movement.

The distribution obtained with the basic device having the aforesaid auxiliary arrangement may be increased practically at will which in practice very advantageously increases the possibilities of the apparatus according to the invention.

It is also possible to replace the inclined blades or fins by guide members with wing-shaped profiles. These guide members may be fed from the exterior with fluid to be sprayed and discharge this fluid into the annular passage through orifices, slits or the like.

The olive-shaped mass may be solid or provided with a longitudinal axial channel opening to the air at the tip of the mass and connected at its rear to the source of supply of the second or driven fluid. The longitudinal channel may also extend along a certain length of the axis to communicate either with a certain number of radial channels distributed regularly about the axis or by a slit continuous with the outer surface of the plane" of the largest cross-section of the olive-shaped mass. The mass could also be entirely hollowed out and comprise an inlet orifice and an outlet orifice.

The forward end or tip of the olive-shaped mass may be cut ofi' by a plane perpendicular to the axis or truncated to form a flat-bottomed cup-shaped portion open towards the exterior, the longitudinal channel therefore opens at the center of the plane or closed end of the cup-shaped portion.

The olive-shaped mass may be of one-piece construction. It may also be formed of separate parts joined together by screwing onto an axial threaded tube and forming 'therebetween a chamber opening into the plane of the main couple by an annular slit of adjustable width and advantageously inclined towards the exterior. It may be advantageous for the outlet end of the driving fluid pipe to be telescoping in order to facilitate possible adjustments of the relative position of the largest cross-section and the outlet plane.

The driving fluid may be air having a pressure chosen as a function of the nature of the spraying and the flow rate desired. For example, the pressure of the driving fluid may be between 20 and 80g/cm whereas the pressure of the driven fluid as a function of the desired flow rate may be, for example, between 20g/cm" and +80 g/cm= or more, if necessary for the flow rate. The values are also preferably determined by trial here.

There are described hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, various embodiments of the device according to the invention, the use thereof for the spraying of water into surrounding space, the driving fluid being ai'r.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section of a first embodiment according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of the device shown in FIG. 1 taken along the line 11-11;

FIGS. 3 and 4 correspond to FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively for an alternative embodiment in which the tip of the olive-shaped mass is truncated;

FIGS. 5 and 6 correspond to FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively for a second alternative embodiment having an adjustable slit;

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of an embodiment provided with an outer conduit carrying therein solid blades.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 7 in which hollow tubes are provided instead of blades; and

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of a further embodiment with a single intake pipe with blades for rotating the driving fluid and for spraying the liquid.

In the various figures is shown a pipe 1 for the driving fluid which is air in the examples considered. Towards the outlet end 2 of the pipe 1 and coaxial therewith is provided a generally olive-shaped mass 3 whose leading end or tip 4 is outside the pipe and whose major crosssection (main-couple 5) is substantially in the plane of the outlet 2 of the pipe. This mass is maintained in position by suitable thin supports. The mass 3 is provided with an axial channel 6 towards its rear, said channel is internally threaded and screwed onto a tube 7 in communication with a reservoir (not shown) containing the fluid to be sprayed which is water in the present example.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 the axial channel 6 opens into three radial channels 8 8 and 8 which lie in the plane of the maximum cross-section 5.

When air at a low pressure, for example in the order of 45 g/cm is blown through the pipe 1 and water is carried by the tube 7 at a pressure of 50g/cm through the channel 6, and the radial outlets 8 8 and 8 and along the forward surface of the olive-shaped mass 3, there is observed the formation of a film which comes together at the tip or nose of the mass and extends about one to two centimeters in the shape of a cylinder 9 coaxial to the pipe and the olive-shaped mass; and then becomes a fine spray of water carried by the air and spread out in a homogeneous manner into the surrounding space.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, the channel 6 is extended axially by the channel 10 along the entire length of the olive-shaped mass. The forward tip of the olive-shaped mass is truncated so as to form a flatbottomed cup-shaped portion 11 with side walls 12. The axial length of the truncated portion is chosen as a function of the pressures of the driven and driving fluids and the diameters of the pipe 1 and the channels 6 and 10. This length is generally, for dimensions and pressures similar to those of the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2, equal to the length of the cylinder 9. It has been found that the water arriving from the tube 7 is sprayed into the entire surrounding space from the imaginary tip of the olive-shaped mass which forms the front plane of the cylinder 9.

In the example of FIGS. 5 and 6 the mass 3 is broken down into two members. The first member is a base 13 with a cup-shaped flat-bottomed forward portion, the side walls 13' of which are located approximately in the plane of the outlet 2 of the pipe 1. The tube 7 is threaded at its end for receiving the threaded channel 6 extending along the axis of the base 13, and sealing means may be provided therebetween. The tube 7 is also provided with a certain number of radial orifices 14 to permit the flow of fluid into the cup-shaped portion of the base 13. The second member is an olive-tipshaped body 15 provided with a blind-end threaded axial bore 16, the thread being complementary to those on the tube 7, the rear face of the body 15 being shaped to form a side wall 17 parallel to the side walls 13 of the cupshaped portion of the base.

With this device, not only can the width of the outlet slit for the water between the walls 13' and 17 of the base and body respectively be controlled but also the position of the slit relative to the maximum crosssection, i.e., to adapt in a simple manner a device of given dimensions to a rather large range of air pressure and liquid flow rates and consequently rather varied spraying conditions. One of the advantages of the invention resides in the small pressures which may be used.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 7 and 8 the device of FIGS. 1 and 2 is surrounded by an outer conduit 17 carrying blades 18 (FIG. 7) or tubular vanes 18 '(FIG. 8) for rotating a portion of the driving fluid (air here) about the axis of the apparatus. It is found that the volume 9 produced by the homogeneous spraying is much larger than when the blades or vanes are not present.

In the embodiment of FIG. 9 the large diameter pipe 17 flares out at 20. The flared portion 20 is provided at its interior with wing-shaped elements or blades as shown in FIG. 7. The fluid to be sprayed is introduced through orifices 21, to slots 22 provided in wing-shaped elements 21 and passes along the wing-shaped elements 21 from which it leaves at the discharge sides 21, in an atomized state in which it mixes with the outer layer 23 of the driving fluid.

An exterior air stream in present which, with the axial stream 24, eventually provides a large volume 9' produced by the spraying of the driven fluid.

The device of FIGS. 7 and 9 may, of course, be arranged as indicated for the olive-shaped mass of FIGS. 5 and 6.

The various elements of the device according to the invention may be machined or molded or cast of plastic or metal. The assembly and the cleaning thereof are simple and the elements are easily interchangeable.

The invention has been described for spraying fluids. It is, of course, obvious that the apparatus described may be used to displace other fluids including pulverulent masses by means of a driven fluid.

WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A device for fine, homogeneous spraying of a driven fluid by a driving fluid, comprising an intake pipe for the driving fluid and a second pipe for introducing second fluid to be driven into the driving fluid,

' a generally olive-shaped mass arranged at the outlet orifice of said intake pipe and coaxial therewith, the tip of the olive-shaped mass being disposed beyond the outlet orifice of the intake pipe, the plane of the largest cross-section of the olive-shaped mass substantially coinciding with the plane of the outlet orifice of said intake pipe, an annular passage being formed between the olive-shaped mass and the interior wall of said intake pipe, said second pipe carrying the driven fluid to the interior of said mass at a relatively low pressure so that at least the portion of fluid in the vicinity of the olive-shaped mass flows parallel to the axis of the first pipe, and means for discharging the second fluid at at least one point on the outer surface of the olive-shaped mass.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the intake pipe is provided along its interior wall with at least one ring of blades parallel to one another and inclined at approximately relative to the axis common to the olive-shaped mass and the intake pipe, the radial dimension of said passage being such that the driving fluid portion also flows parallel in the vicinity of the olive-shaped mass, the rest of this fluid undergoing a helical rotary movement about said axis.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein the inclined blades are formed as guide elements with wingshaped profiles fed from the exterior with fluid to be sprayed and discharging this fluid into the annular passage through openings.

4. A device according to claim 2, wherein said ring is mounted in the vicinity of the outlet of said'intake pipe.

5. A device according to claim 4, wherein a portion of said blades are outside the intake pipe.

6. A device according to claim 1, further comprising a conduit coaxial with the intake pipe and the oliveshaped mass and disposed about the intake pipe and defining said annular passage fed by the driving fluid, said conduit being provided with blades inclined at about 15 to the common axis.

7. A device according to claim 1, wherein the oliveshaped mass is solid and has a longitudinal axial channel opening to the surrounding environment at said tip and connected at its other end to said second pipe.

8. A device according to claim 1, wherein the tip of the olive-shaped mass is truncated to form a cupshaped flat-bottomed portion with outwardly flaring side walls.

9. A device according to claim 1, wherein the oliveshaped mass is formed in two parts, a first part forming a base having a threaded axial bore screwed onto said second pipe, said second pipe having a plurality of radial orifices, and a second part formed as an olive-tipshaped body with a threaded bore screwed onto said pipe, the adjacent portions of said parts having peripheral areas substantially parallel to each other forming a slit opening therebetween at the plane of the largest cross-section of the olive-shaped mass effectively formed by said first and second parts.

10. A device according to claim 1, wherein the relatively low pressure is negative.

11. A device according to claim 1, wherein the relatively low pressure is positive.

12. A device according to claim 1, wherein the relatively low pressure is substantially nil. 

1. A device for fine, homogeneous spraying of a driven fluid by a driving fluid, comprising an intake pipe for the driving fluid and a second pipe for introducing second fluid to be driven into the driving fluid, a generally olive-shaped mass arranged at the outlet orifice of said intake pipe and coaxial therewith, the tip of the olive-shaped mass being disposed beyond the outlet orifice of the intake pipe, the plane of the largest cross-section of the olive-shaped mass substantially coinciding with the plane of the outlet orifice of said intake pipe, an annular passage being formed between the olive-shaped mass and the interior wall of said intake pipe, said second pipe carrying the driven fluid to the interior of said mass at a relatively low pressure so that at least the portion of fluid in the vicinity of the olive-shaped mass flows parallel to the axis of the first pipe, and means for discharging the second fluid at at least one point on the outer surface of the olive-shaped mass.
 2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the intake pipe is provided along its interior wall with at least one ring of blades parallel to one another and inclined at approximately 15* relative to the axis common to the olive-shaped mass and the intake pipe, the radial dimension of said passage being such that the driving fluid portion also flows parallel in the vicinity of the olive-shaped mass, the rest of this fluid undergoing a helical rotary movement about said axis.
 3. A device according to claim 2, wherein the inclined blades are formed as guide elements with wing-shaped profiles fed from the exterior with fluid to be sprayed and discharging this fluid into the annular passage through openings.
 4. A device according to claim 2, wherein said ring is mounted in the vicinity of the outlet of said intake pipe.
 5. A device according to claim 4, wherein a portion of said blades are outside the intake pipe.
 6. A device according to claim 1, further comprising a conduit coaxial with the intake pipe and the olive-shaped mass and disposed about the intake pipe and defining said annular passage fed by the driving fluid, said conduit being provided with blades inclined at about 15* to the common axis.
 7. A device according to claim 1, wherein the olive-shaped mass is solid and has a longitudinal axial channel opening to the surrounding environment at said tip and connected at its other end to said second pipe.
 8. A device according to claim 1, wherein the tip of the olive-shaped mass is truncated to form a cup-shaped flat-bottomed portion with outwardly flaring side walls.
 9. A device according to claim 1, wherein the olive-shaped mass is formed in two parts, a first part forming a base having a threaded axial bore screwed onto said second pipe, said second pipe having a plurality of radial orifices, and a second part formed as an olive-tip-shaped body with a threaded bore screwed onto said pipe, the adjacent portions of said parts having peripheral areas substantially parallel to each other forming a slit opening therebetween at the plane of the largest cross-section of the olive-shaped mass effectively formed by said first and second parts.
 10. A device according to claim 1, wherein the relatively low pressure is negative.
 11. A device according to claim 1, wherein the relatively low pressure is positive.
 12. A device according to claim 1, wherein the relatively low pressure is substantially nil. 